Kanye West’s Relationship History Is A Wild Ride

Kanye “Ye” West has had his fair share of romantic entanglements throughout his career, from a long-term relationship with his high school girlfriend to his marriage to Kim Kardashian. And in early 2022, Ye began making headlines by launching into a new fling — this time with actor Julia Fox. Needless to say, Ye’s dating history is a wild ride.

One of Ye’s earliest relationships was with his high school sweetheart, Sumeke Rainey. By and large, the relationship was kept out of the public eye, but in 2004, Sumeke was referenced in a song on Ye’s first album, The College Dropout. In “Never Let Me Down,” he raps, “Nothing sad as that day my girl's father passed away / So I promised to Mr. Rainey, I'm gonna marry your daughter” — though, this marriage never came to fruition. The exact dates of Sumeke and Ye’s relationship are unknown, but the two split up not long after he rose to fame.

From there, things got a bit more interesting. So, grab your shutter shades, and let’s turn the clock back to 2006. Here’s a look at Ye’s romantic history and his relationships over time.

Alexis Phifer

Ye dated fashion designer Alexis Phifer off and on from about 2002 to 2004, then from 2006 to 2008 — casually at first, then more seriously. Ye proposed to Alexis in Capri in the summer of 2006, but they called off their engagement about 18 months later.

“It’s always sad when things like this end, and we remain friends,” Alexis told People at the time. “I wish him the best in his future and all of his endeavors. He’s one of the most talented people I’ve ever met.”

Brooke Crittendon

While on a break from Alexis in 2006, Ye began dating Brooke Crittendon, who worked at MTV and later appeared on the BET reality show, Harlem Heights. Brooke even joined Ye and his mother, Donda, at the 2006 Grammy Awards in February, but their relationship ended shortly after.

In a 2009 interview with Essence, Brooke opened up about her relationship with Ye, saying, “[I] had to live in the shadow of, ‘that’s Kanye’s ex-girl.’ I’m so much bigger than that.” That said, she also shared that their fling ended amicably. “I wish him the best and he wishes me likewise,” she said. “As far as I’m concerned if he ever needed anything I’d be there and [he would do] the same for me.”

Amber Rose

After ending his engagement to Alexis in 2008, Ye began to date model Amber Rose. Their headline-grabbing relationship stretched until July 2010, when they broke up while Ye was recording My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.

Two years later, however, Amber told Star that Kim was the reason for their split, saying, “Kim is one of the main reasons why me and Kanye are not together.”

At the time, Kim was dating NFL player Reggie Bush (who Amber later dated as well). According to Amber, however, “[Kim and Ye] were both cheating. They were both cheating on me and Reggie with each other.” While Kim has always asserted the two were just good friends, Ye later responded to Amber’s accusations, saying simply, “I wish.” He also added that he “had to take 30 showers” after dating Amber. Which, just, yikes all around.

In 2020, Amber further opened up about her relationship with Ye, calling him a “bully” on the No Jumper podcast (particularly after that “30 showers” comment).

Selita Ebanks

Ye dated model Selita Ebanks for a spell in 2010. They made a few red carpet appearances, and she starred in the music video for “Runaway,” but little is known about their relationship beyond that.

Kim Kardashian

Though Ye and Kim had been friends for years — reportedly first meeting in 2003 — they didn’t start dating (at least not publicly) until 2012. From there, the relationship took off like a spaceship, and they welcomed their first child together, North West, the following year on Jun. 15.

Months after North was born, Ye proposed to Kim at San Francisco’s AT&T Park on her 33rd birthday — Oct. 21, 2013 — and the pair wed in Florence, Italy on May 24, 2014.

They welcomed their second child, Saint West, in 2015. The next year, however, things got more complicated for the couple. On Oct. 3, 2016, Kim was robbed at gunpoint in Paris — which she (understandably) described as “tragic” and “horrific.” Less than two months later, on Nov. 21, 2016, Ye was hospitalized for exhaustion.

At the time, a source told Us Weekly that Kim had been feeling like “she needed him to be stable and her rock instead of the other way around… Kanye’s so used to getting Kim’s constant support and coding, but it’s always about Kanye.” Regardless, Kim stayed by Ye’s bedside for the duration of his hospitalization, reportedly thinking, “this is what it will take to save him — and help their marriage.”

Things seemed to smooth over then, with Kim and Ye welcoming two more children, Chicago West and Psalm West, via surrogate on Jan. 18, 2018 and May 10, 2019. But the parents of four reportedly began facing marital challenges again in 2020, particularly during lockdown (and, ahem, Ye’s brief presidential run).

That July, at a campaign rally in Charleston, South Carolina, Ye made a number of controversial remarks (including comments that were anti-abortion and anti-gun) that prompted questions and concern about his mental health, which Kim addressed directly on Instagram.

"He is a brilliant but complicated person who on top of the pressures of being an artist and a [Black] man, who experienced the painful loss of his mother, and has to deal with the pressure and isolation that is heightened by his bi-polar disorder," she wrote. "Those who are close with Kanye know his heart and understand his words some times [sic] do not align with his intentions."

In addition to calling for compassion and supporting Ye through these challenges, however, Kim was reportedly struggling with his behavior, too. After months of rumors about the state of their marriage, Kim officially filed for divorce in February 2021.

Though Ye has been pretty vocal about his desire to get back together with Kim, both look like they’ve started to move on. Kim has been seen canoodling on several occasions with comedian Pete Davidson, while Ye has been spotted out and about with a few different women.

Irina Shayk

In June 2021, sources told Page Six Ye was dating model (and Bradley Cooper’s ex) Irina Shayk, saying “It’s casual at the moment, but they are into each other.” They were even photographed together in the south of France. The fling was short-lived though, with reports indicating the two had broken up that August, but “remain friendly.”

Vinetria

In November 2021 — just after Kim was first seen with Pete — Ye also appeared to have a brief fling with model Vinetria. They attended a basketball game at Donda Academy together, with Page Six reporting the two had been “hooking up... for a while now” on Nov. 7. They’d called time on their situationship by that December, though.

Julia Fox

Which brings us to our final stop on Ye’s relationship tour: Julia Fox. The Uncut Gems actor has been on a number (a number!) of dates with Ye in 2021, dining together in Miami, New York, and Los Angeles. And if you’re wondering how Kim feels about this budding romance, she’s apparently totally cool with it — wanting nothing but “positive vibes” for her ex-husband.

Can’t wait to see where things go from here.